Back to all articles Introducing the new "Titan WS Chariot" a Workstation Chassis Published:
Titan Computers have been around for almost ten years now. In that time we’ve weathered several (literal) storms, had a name change and built nearly 15,000 quality workstations. Today we’ve established ourselves as a global brand and have raised the bar for after-sales support in the professional computing market.
When we started this company there were no guarantees that our vision would be shared by the rest of the world. We came into the game facing an established market and some very old-school thoughts about what defined the line between enthusiast computing and professional workstation design. Thankfully our customers have shown an appreciation for our approach to making beautiful, reliable and functional workstations that liven up any space they’re kept in. It’s been a great first decade and our customers are the ones who made it happen for us.
Now we’ve reached a major milestone that we want to share with the extended Titan family. For the first time ever we’re bringing a wholly-original Titan product to market. We’ve been working on this idea for a long time and have created something that meets our high standards: The Titan WS Chariot Workstation Chassis.
Making Our Case for Perfection
After building so many workstations with incredibly clean looks and exemplary cable management over the years, our system builders have accumulated a list of grievances, pet peeves and deal-breakers when it comes to a system chassis.
We’re very selective about which chassis we choose when designing a new build, even so there just seem to be a number of flaws built into even the most expensive cases. That’s the result of ruthless profit margins and mass-production.
Modern cases also have the tendency to include gimmicks you’ll never use, get in the way or are just plain ugly. While most of then are 90% where they need to be, there’s a distinct lack of attention when it comes to the details. So when that list of problems became long enough, we decided to design our own chassis. One which would become the foundation for our premium builds for years to come.
Sticking to Our Principles The WS Chariot team spent more than a year in the design phase. Our talented lead designer, David Rodriguez, collected opinions, advice and suggestions from our world-class system builder team until they ran out of things to say. We collected every comment, complaint or problem any customer has ever had related to a third-party case from one of our builds. He took this wealth of information and came up with a few core design principles for our case:
- Functional minimalism and stylish - Premium Anodized Aluminum Material - Over- rather than under- engineering - Simplicity for builders and users - Timeless, classic good looks
We wanted our case to be the last one you’ll ever need, while never being one you’d get tired of.
The Creative Touch
From an aesthetic perspective our goal with the WS Chariot was to have as few unnecessary lines as possible. The main way we achieved this was by crafting a single pieces of curved, brushed aluminum that stretched from the front feet of the cases all the way to the rear ones. Achieving this involved many failures and three distinct prototypes. The result is a case that’s not only incredibly strong, but has no right angles.
At the same time the edge-to-edge tempered glass window means you can get an uninterrupted view of the beautiful system design within.
We wanted this case to improve whichever room it stands in. Whether it’s the offices of a 3D animation company, an architect or laboratory, it will always draw the eye.
It’s not only at home in creative spaces, but at home with creatives themselves. Our customers tend to be exceptionally sensitive to the details of design. It can be hard to create the next great film or great structure when there are 100 little distracting things that bother you about your computer’s design.
The Cutting Edge
As system builders we face a problem not many people ever thing about: sharp edges. Commercial cases tend to use the thinnest metal possible. In practice it means we have to use gloves and even then the first aid kit is always running out of band-aids. The WS Chariot doesn’t have any metal panels thin enough to cut you. In addition, virtually every corner has been chamfered, which not only looks great but feels wonderful to handle.
The Chariot is almost completely tool less too. Unless you want to remove the motherboard, most fastening tasks are handled by quality thumbscrews.
Technical Triumphs
There are so many small technical details in the Titan WS Chariot, there almost isn’t enough space to list them all. In order to preserve the beautiful brushed-aluminum face, the optical drive is a slot-loading unit that feeds DVD discs through a thin opening in the aluminum face.
At the top of the case you’ll find four USB 3 ports as well as audio IO. Notice the smooth edges around the IO cutout and the recess for the beautiful, tactile power switch.
The light-up Titan logo may not immediately announce itself as something special, but we’ve actually used a special custom LED panel in three shades of red. Representing the attention to detail that flows throughout the entire case.
A Room with a View
Apart from the gorgeous edge-to-edge glass window, there are two alternative side panels with shaped window cutouts. Regardless of which you choose, peering through the panel to the chassis interior reveals all the hard work that went into this case.
The power supply and drive bays are isolated in a basement compartment. There’s space for eight drives in total. Four 2.5” slots and four 3.5” slots. Both side panels have front and top cutouts to accommodate our unique side-flow vent system. Both of these can accommodate up to a 240mm radiator each. The rear panel allows for free exhaust airflow with a unique double-layer honeycomb design. We’ve even vented the expansion slot covers.
Speaking of which, this case supports the extended ATX standard and quad-GPU motherboards are perfectly at home here. In fact, there’s room to spare at both the top- and bottom- end of the motherboard. This, combined with ample cable anchors and a space for excess cabling between the motherboard tray and side panel make for incredibly clean builds. The WS Chariot case lets us build systems with virtually no cables in sight whatsoever.
Born in the USA The TItan WS Chariot case is our pride and joy. This is a true USA-designed chassis. Our manufacturing partner is based in Taiwan, which is a global leader in computer component manufacture. We’re so confident in the Chariot’s strength and quality, that any Titan workstation built with it carries an extra year on our already class-leading 2-year warranty. During shipping and use we trust the WS Chariot chassis to keep your components safe and cool.
We will also never sell the WS Chariot chassis directly to the public. Only premium Titan workstations will come with this chassis as the flagship for our brand and company philosophy. If it ships in the Chariot, you know there’s something special inside.
